CarterHud

                      Despite an impressive rookie campaign by Patrik Laine, the Winnipeg Jets missed the playoffs in 2016-17 with 87 points. They made a goalie change, bringing in Steve Mason and losing Ondrej Pavelec. Here\’s a look at their offseason.

                       Notable additions: G Steve Mason, D Dmitry Kulikov, F Matt Hendricks.

                       Notable subtractions: G Ondrej Pavelec, D Paul Postma, F Chris Thorburn, D Mark Stuart, D Brian Strait.

                                              Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines.

Nikolaj Ehlers – Mark Scheifele – Patrik Laine
Mathieu Perreault – Bryan Little – Blake Wheeler
Kyle Connor – Andrew Copp – Marko Dano
Nic Petan – Shawn Matthias – Joel Armia

Scheifele emerged as a top 10 center in the league last year with 32 goals and 82 points. Him and Laine are a force to be reckoned with for the Jets. Wheeler is a top line player, but I put him on the second line since Laine\’s line is clearly better. Connor played in just 20 games last year, regaining his rookie status. The former 17th overall pick can have a solid rookie season. Petan is still just 22, but he\’s scored just three goals in 80 career games. He needs to step it up, or he could be out of Winnipeg before you could even say Winnipeg. Matt Hendricks is the extra forward.

                                                 Defensemen
 Here are my projected defensive pairs.

Josh Morrissey – Dustin Byfuglien
Dmitry Kulikov – Tyler Myers
Toby Enstrom – Jacob Trouba

Morissey played in 82 games last year in his rookie campaign. Byfuglien (Buf-lin) is a very physical d-man players look out for. Kulikov\’s horrible last season in Buffalo could\’ve been a fluke. We\’ll see soon. Trouba played after a trade request this season. I think things are still a little rough from both sides, but Trouba shouldn\’t be traded yet. Ben Chiarot is the extra defenseman.

 Goalies
 Steve Mason
 Connor Hellebuyck

Mason was a good addition this offseason. This year\’s a big make-or-break year for Hellebuyck. Michael Hutchinson is the third goalie if needed.

                                                    Prediction
 I think the Jets are a solid team. But, in a very competitive Central division (besides the Avalanche), I predict they will miss the playoffs in 2017-18.

                 In 2016-17, the Washington Capitals won their second consecutive President\’s trophy, finishing with 118 points. Even though they got past the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1st round, they once again fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins in round number two. That led to a bad offseason, which led to Alex Ovechkin trade rumors. Here\’s a look at that bad offseason.

                  Notable additions: F Devante Smith-Pelly, F Tyler Graovac, F Anthony Peluso.

                  Notable subtractions: F Marcus Johansson, D Kevin Shattenkirk, D Karl Alzner, F Justin Williams, D Nate Schmidt, F Dan Winnik.

                                                 Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines.

Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Devante Smith-Pelly
Jakub Vrana – Lars Eller – Brett Connolly
Tyler Graovac – Jay Beagle – Tom Wilson

That first line is the best line in the NHL in my opinion. Burakovsky will get an extended amount of time this year with Johansson and Williams out of town. Smith-Pelly, or \”DSP\” will also get more time than intended when he first signed in D.C. Vrana\’s 21 games last year was less than expected, but he should play more this year. Graovac was only acquired for the expansion draft, but will get a 4th line role this year. Trash-on-ice Tom Wilson will attempt to get under 100 penalty minutes for the first time in his career this year.

                                                 Defensemen
Here are my projected defensive pairs.

Dmitry Orlov – John Carlson
Christian Djoos – Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik – Madison Bowey

Orlov broke out with 33 points last year, and should pair with Carlson this year. Djoos hasn\’t played in the NHL yet, but should have a good rookie season. Him and Bowey are trying to replace Nate Schmidt and Alzner this year. Taylor Chorney and Aaron Ness are the extra defensemen.

 Goalies
 Braden Holtby
 Philipp Grubauer
Holtby is still a top goalie in the game. Grubauer\’s 2.05 GAA last year showed his potential. Pheonix Copley is the third goalie.
                                                      
                                                   Prediction
The Caps are falling. But, they still are good. I predict they will make the playoffs this year.

                  The Vegas Golden Knights will be making history when they step on the ice for the first time this season. It will be their inaugural season, and there now will be 31 NHL teams. The Golden Knights had a very successful first offseason, signing Russian star Vadim Shipchyov, and picking stars like James Neal and Marc-Andre Fleury in the expansion draft. Here\’s a look at their inaugural team.

                                   Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines.

Jonathan Marchessault – Vadim Shipachyov – James Neal
David Perron – Cody Eakin – Reilly Smith
Teemu Pulkkinen – Erik Haula – Alex Tuch
Pierre-Edouard Bellmare – William Karlsson – Oscar Lindberg

Marchessault and Neal were two really good expansion pickups by Vegas. Shipachyov will be a 30 year old rookie coming from the KHL, and should be very good. Perron and Eakin are two more good draft picks. Smith was acquired from the Panthers in an expansion draft trade (like Tuch) and is pretty elite. Tuch, the former first rounder, will finally get a chance to start. Brandon Leipsic and Will Carrier will start in the AHL, but will also be call-ups.

                                     Defensemen
Here are my projected defensive pairs.

Jason Garrison – Nate Schmidt
Jon Merrill – Luca Sbisa
Brayden McNabb – Deryk Engelland

Schmidt was another good pickup. While Garrison wasn\’t a great pickup, he\’s still their best defenseman. Sbisa could be a trade candidate this year, and so could McNabb. Basically everyone is fighting with Shea Theodore, Colin Miller, Clayton Stoner and Griffin Reinhart for a spot.

 Goalies
 Marc-Andre Fleury
 Calvin Pickard
A three time Cup champion, Fleury will start the first game in history. Pickard struggled as starter in Colorado when Semyon Varlamov was injured, but has been good in his career as a backup.

                                        Prediction
As an expansion team, the Knights are bad. I predict they won\’t finish last in the league or their division, but the will have high odds for the first overall pick in the draft lottery.

                After signing F Loui Eriksson in the offseason, the Canucks season went downhill, and completely crashed. They finished 2nd last in the NHL and last in the Pacific division with 69 points, only ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, who had a historic season (a historically bad one) with 48 points. They made a couple quality signings, but they are still continuing the rebuild. Here\’s a look at what they did in the offseason.

                Notable additions: C Sam Gagner, D Michael Del Zotto, G Anders Nilsson, RW Thomas Vanek, F Alex Burmistrov, D Patrick Wiercioch.

                Notable subtractions: G Ryan Miller, D Luca Sbisa, D Nikita Tryamkin, F Jack Skille, D Philip Larsen, F Drew Shore, F Alex Grenier.

                                               Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines. 

Dan Sedin – Henrik Sedin –  Thomas Vanek
Sven Baertschi – Bo Horvat – Brock Boeser
Loui Eriksson – Sam Gagner – Brandon Sutter
Mike Chaput – Markus Granlund – Jake Virtanen

The Sedins are returning once again, but this should be their final season in Blue and Green. Vanek is a sure bet to be traded. Baertschi\’s 18 goals in 2016-17 went unnoticed by many. Horvat can become their first line center this year, and Boeser can break out. This is a big year for Sutter and Eriksson. Virtanen just makes the team in my books, but some AHL time could never hurt. Reid Boucher, Alex Burmistrov, Derek Dorsett, Brendan Gaunce, Nikolay Goldobin, Jayson Megna and Anton Rodin are all fighting for spots, but most of them (definitely Goldobin and Gaunce probably others) will be in the AHL.

                                                 Defensemen
Here are my projected defensive pairs.

Alex Edler – Chris Tanev
Michael Del Zotto – Erik Gudbranson
Ben Hutton – Troy Stetcher

Edler and Tanev are vets that I feel like are both underrated and overrated somehow. Del Zotto might not have been the best signing, but is okay. Hutton and Stetcher had good first years, and are looking for similar second years. Patrick Wiercioch is the 7th defenseman.

 Goalies
 Jacob Markstrom
 Anders Nilsson
This is finally Markstrom\’s year to break out, and even though he\’s the backup of the future, starter of the future Thatcher Demko will only play if there\’s a big injury. He\’ll start in the AHL. Nilsson was a good signing for them. Richard Backman will be Demko\’s backup, but will be the third NHL goalie if there\’s a short-term injury.

                                                Prediction
The Canucks are still a pretty horrible team. I think that they will compete… for the first overall pick in 2017-18.

              Led by a trio of rookies in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, the Toronto Maple Leafs made the playoffs for the first time since the lockout season with 95 points. But, they lost in the first round to the Washington Capitals. To mentor the youngsters, the Leafs brought in Patrick Marleau. Here\’s a full look at their offseason.

             Notable additions: LW Patrick Marleau, C Dominic Moore, D Ron Hainsey, F Chris Mueller.

             Notable subtractions: D Matt Hunwick, C Brian Boyle.

                               Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines.

Patrick Marleau – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
Leo Komarov – Dominic Moore – Matt Martin

Marleau can really produce with Matthews and Nylander, and vice-versa. If the second line can produce like it did last year, they\’ll be the Leafs\’ recipe for success again. Hyman moves down with Marleau on the team, and can play with Kadri and Brown. That\’s a great line. Since he\’s been struggling in the preseason, Moore could be a scratch, and Komarov could center, letting Josh Leivo be the 4th line left-winger. Nikita Soshnikov, Eric Fehr, Frederik Gauthier, Kaspari Kapanen, Ben Smith and Colin Greening are in the running for a spot.

                               Defensemen
Here are my projected defensive pairs.

Morgan Reilly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Ron Hainsey – Martin Marincin
Reilly and Zaitsev is a very good top line. Gardiner is an underrated defenseman. Marinicin is a below average NHL defenseman, so youngsters Travis Dermott, Andrew Nielson and Andreas Borgman could beat him out, and have Marincin as the 7th d-man.

                            Goalies
 Freddy Andersen
 Curtis McElhinney
In his second year in Toronto and as a full-time starter, Andersen is looking for a good season. In his first full-season in Toronto, McElhinney will be the backup. AHL starter Garrett Sparks is the third goalie.

                            Prediction
As long as Matthews, Nylander and Marner can avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, the Leafs will be good. I think they will once again make the playoffs.